Digital content subscription conditioning system

ABSTRACT

Allocating subscription revenue may involve receiving usage information relating to usage of digital content (e.g., music, movies, text, images, games) in a digital content aggregation, identifying a coefficient relating to a subset of digital works in the digital content aggregation (e.g., author-specific subjective or objective factors, popularity ranking, historical factors, performance factors, etc.), and generating a revenue allocation for the digital content based on the coefficient and the usage information.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Serial No. 60/290,564, filed on May 11, 2001, which ishereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] This application relates to the allocation of digital librarysubscription revenue generated, for example, by the distribution ofdigital content such as music, movies, images, and texts.

[0003] The distribution of digital content such as music, movies, imagesand the like over the Internet has become pervasive. Distributionservices include “peer-to-peer” systems in which individual users storecontent on their local computers and then make that content available toother users for download either on a fee-basis or free of charge, and“digital service provider” (DSP) systems in which a central authority,the DSP, hosts digital content (e.g., songs) owned by one or morecontent owners (e.g., record labels, individual artists, licensingcompanies) on a central system and then selectively allows individualusers, or subscribers, to download or otherwise to access the digitalcontent of interest.

[0004] In general, DSP systems operate on a fee-basis and will chargesubscribers using any of several different mechanisms. In a flat ratesubscription arrangement, the DSP will charge a user a flat fee forunlimited access to one or more libraries of digital content. In ausage-based arrangement, users will be charged based on actual use, forexample, a predetermined fee for each download or other access to eachitem of digital content. Alternatively, a hybrid system can be used inwhich a subscriber is charged a flat subscription fee for some contentbut is charged on a usage-basis for other content.

[0005] In addition, a subscriber may be charged different ratesdepending on the method of accessing the digital content. For example, asubscriber who downloads a song in MP3 format to a local computer,thereby retaining a copy of it for future use or copying, might becharged a larger fee than if the subscriber merely accessed the contentin a one-time use manner (e.g., as streaming media).

[0006] In general, a subscription is an agreement to exchange access todigital content during specified periods of time for a fee, regardlessof the method of access or whether additional charges apply forparticular usage of the digital content. Thus, a licensing agreementbetween a DSP and a content provider in which the DSP pays a flat feefor the right to distribute digital content from a particular digitallibrary, or content aggregation, is also a subscription agreement. Aportion of the subscription fee, which in this case is the licensing feepaid by the DSP, typically is allocated in some fashion to those withrights and royalties in the digital content in the digital library.

[0007] Conventional subscription-based systems for electronic deliveryof digital content typically allocate subscription revenues to authorson a pro rata basis. Moreover, these conventional subscription-basedsystems for electronic delivery of digital content typically are notintegrated with existing rights and royalty systems.

SUMMARY

[0008] The present inventors recognized that conventional royaltyallocation practices tended to improperly compensate anchor artistsprimarily responsible for generating subscription sales of digitalcontent to DSPs. Moreover, the inventors recognized that it may beadvantageous to integrate a royalty allocation system with contentdelivery systems for the allocation of rights and royalties in thedistribution of digital media. Accordingly, the inventors developeddigital content subscription conditioning systems and techniques thatmay be integrated with delivery systems and which more fairly compensatecontent creators in view of market forces. Implementations of thedigital content subscription conditioning systems and techniques mayinclude various combinations of the following features.

[0009] In one aspect, a computer-implemented method of allocatingdigital content subscription revenue, the method includes receivingusage information relating to usage of digital content in a digitalcontent aggregation, identifying a coefficient relating to a subset ofdigital works in the digital content aggregation, and generating arevenue allocation for the digital content based on the coefficient andthe usage information. The method may further include receiving digitalasset metadata from a digital asset management system. The coefficientmay be a preset value corresponding to a subjective or objective measureof marketability for the digital content, or it may be derived from ameasure of usage for digital content calculated using usage informationfrom a plurality of digital service providers.

[0010] The identification of the coefficient may involve retrieving thecoefficient from a contract data repository, and may also involveidentifying multiple conditioning coefficients, each comprising a presetvalue. The one or more conditioning coefficients may correspond to anauthor(s) of digital content or other content grouping factor. Moreover,the generation of the revenue allocation may involve variouscalculations, such as assigning a weight to each conditioningcoefficient, averaging conditioning coefficients to create a compositeconditioning coefficient for each digital work, multiplying thecomposite conditioning coefficient by the usage information, andnormalizing data.

[0011] In another aspect, a machine-readable medium has stored thereonone or more sequences of instructions for causing one or more machinesto perform operations as described above.

[0012] In yet another aspect, a data processing system for allocatingdigital content subscription revenue includes a processor, aninput/output system, a database, and a revenue conditioning serverconfigured to calculate revenue allocations for digital content in anaggregation of digital content by allocating earned revenue for theaggregation as a whole based upon actual usage of the digital contentand a conditioning coefficient. The database may include a submissiondatabase, a subscription agreement and conditioning coefficientdatabase, and a server database.

[0013] The data processing system may further include a network serverconfigured to present a graphical user interface for receivingsubmissions and managing the subscription agreement and conditioningcoefficient database. The revenue conditioning server may be dataexchange software capable of translating output data into adestination-specific format. The revenue conditioning server also may bea back-end server having document routing, mapping and transformation,transaction logging, subscriber management, security certification, andworkflow orchestration elements.

[0014] One or more of the following advantages may be provided. Thesystems and techniques described may result in an ability to applycustomized business and revenue models to compensation calculation,contract flexibility by allowing artist stature negotiation, andenhanced protection of revenue and rights of authors. The systems andtechniques described also may result in an increase in ability to retainanchor artists, expansion of revenue channels by promoting and drivingmusic sales over computer networks, and leveraging of existing rightsand royalty systems to achieve cost efficiency. The systems andtechniques described also may result in a uniform interface betweencontent providers and digital service providers, enhanced online digitalcontent distribution, support for emerging business and revenue models,and enablement of trending as well as marketing, financial and executivelevel reporting.

[0015] The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will be apparent from the description and drawings and fromthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0016]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic digitalcontent delivery system.

[0017]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary environmentfor a subscription revenue conditioning system.

[0018]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example subscriptionrevenue conditioning system.

[0019]FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating flexibility in contentaggregation.

[0020]FIG. 4B is an illustration of a graphical user interface forenabling coefficient drivers and setting conditioning coefficientvalues.

[0021]FIGS. 5A and 5B are a logic flow diagram of a subscription revenueconditioning control program executed by a microprocessor in asubscription conditioning system.

[0022]FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer systemin which elements and functionality of a subscription conditioningsystem may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] In the description that follows, like numerals or referencedesignators will be used to refer to like parts or elements throughout.For ease in illustration, aspects and features are disclosed anddescribed herein in terms of Web-based technologies, such as ExtensibleMarkup Language (XML), and particular database models, such as those foruse with the music industry. However, the systems and techniquesdescribed here may be implemented using different development platformsand/or additional features and functions. For example, alternativeimplementations may include distribution of alternative and/oradditional digital content, including interactive games, movies, imagesand texts, use of different languages, and use of alternative systemsand software, such as Unix based systems or use of Oracle databasesoftware. Moreover, alternative network environments are also possible,including proprietary wired and/or wireless networks.

[0024] A subscription conditioning system conditions subscriptionrevenue by allocating it among authors of digital content based upon thevalue of each author's digital content. Authors are the creators ofdigital content, which comprises discrete digital works known as digitalassets. These authors include authors of books, musical artists, motionpicture producers, interactive games producers, and other types ofcontent generators. Conditioning subscription revenue is a form ofrevenue allocation using predefined revenue allocation models. Forexample, in the music industry, once subscription revenue has beenconditioned, the resulting revenue allocations may be automaticallycompiled with other royalty streams, such as those generated bybrick-and-mortar music sales using UPCs (Universal Product Codes) orISRCs (International Standard Recording Codes), by integrating thesubscription conditioning system with existing rights and royaltysystems.

[0025] The value of a particular author's digital works may bedetermined using actual usage data and one or more conditioningcoefficients. Usage data may include number of downloads of particulardigital works in a given period, as reported by DSPs. Conditioningcoefficients comprise predefined values that are factored into thecalculation of an asset's revenue allocation. Coefficient values may beassigned or dynamically generated based on several factors, such asasset performance, artist stature and market trends. By using actualusage data and a conditioning coefficient in allocating subscriptionrevenues, a subscription conditioning system enables proper compensationof the various anchor artists primarily responsible for generatingsubscription sales of digital content libraries.

[0026]FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic digitalcontent delivery system 100, which may include at least one contentprovider 105 and at least one DSP 130. In a typical implementation,multiple content providers 105 and multiple DSPs 130 are connected via acomputer network with multiple consumers 180. The consumers 180 accessthe DSPs using a network access device, such as a laptop, personalcomputer, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile phone, electronicbook device, or any device capable of communicating using a networkprotocol on the computer network.

[0027] The content provider 105 may include a digital asset managementsystem 110, for managing digital assets, a subscription conditioningsystem 115, for conditioning subscription revenue, and a rights &royalty system 120, for maintaining digital rights information anddistributing royalties. These sub-parts of each content provider 105 maybe located in separate computing environments and be connected via acomputer network. Moreover, a single subscription conditioning system115 and a single rights & royalty system 120 may be shared by multiplecontent providers.

[0028] Alternatively, a separate subscription conditioning system 115and a rights & royalty system 120 may be provided for each type ofdigital content. Thus, for example, a digital music subscriptionconditioning system and a digital music rights & royalty system may beshared by multiple content providers by being in communication withmultiple asset management systems, and an electronic book subscriptionconditioning system and an electronic book rights & royalty system alsomay be shared by the multiple content providers by being incommunication with multiple asset management systems. Other combinationsof the various elements are possible.

[0029] The DSP 130 includes a subscription services module 135, an assetpoint of authority 140, and an asset usage & tracking module 145. Thesubscription services module 135 communicates with the digital assetmanagement system 110, the subscription conditioning system 115 and theasset point of authority 140. In particular, the subscription servicesmodule 135 may provide the subscription conditioning system 115 withsubscription revenue information across all subscription plans. Forexample, the subscription services module 135 may provide licensing feeinformation to the subscription conditioning system 115 for all digitallibraries licensed from a content provider 105 through a digital assetmanagement system 110. The subscription services module 135 also mayprovide content aggregation data for any digital librarysubsets/aggregates created within the asset point of authority 140.

[0030] The asset point of authority 140 may provide digitalassets/content, such as digital music, e-books, etc., to requestingconsumers 180. The asset usage & tracking module 145 stores usageinformation for the consumers 180 and may communicate this usageinformation to the subscription conditioning system 115. For example, ina music industry implementation, the asset usage & tracking module 145may provide the subscription conditioning system 115 with track-levelISRC usage data.

[0031] The subscription conditioning system 115 allocates subscriptionrevenues based upon, at least in part, digital content usage and/orpredefined conditioning coefficients. The resulting revenue allocationinformation is communicated to the rights & royalty system 120, whichthen calculates the royalties for authors 190 of the digital assets.

[0032] The rights & royalty system 120 also may calculate additionalrevenue allocations. In addition, the rights & royalty system 120 maycause royalty payments to be made through an appropriate electronictransfer of funds.

[0033] The subscription conditioning system 115 and the rights & royaltysystem 120 may be merged into a single system.

[0034] One or more merchants 160 may provide facilities for sale ofdigital content in a hard copy form to consumers 180. Each merchant 160may be coupled with the electronic delivery system 100 through atransaction records module 165 and an authorization module 170. Thetransaction records module 165 may provide the DSP 130 with proof ofpurchase information regarding particular digital content, and theauthorization module 170 may provide authorization for electronicdelivery of the same digital content and/or additional digital contentto consumers 180.

[0035] Thus, for example, a consumer 180 may purchase a new Compact Disc(CD) from a merchant 160. The data from this purchase is included in thetransaction records module 165 and allows that same consumer 180 todownload any of the tracks on the purchased CD from the DSP 130, throughthe authorization module 170. The transfer of this purchase data fromthe transaction records module 165 to the subscription services module135 may also sign up the consumer 180 to a promotional contentaggregation, thus allowing the consumer 180 to download any of a set oftracks, currently being promoted, for a limited time, from the DSP 130.

[0036] Alternatively, or additionally, a consumer 180 may download orstream digital content directly from the DSP 130. The DSP 130 pays oneor more subscription fees to license the rights to distribute thedigital works of one or more digital libraries managed by the digitalasset management system 110. The consumers 180 download digital contentfrom the DSP 130 through the asset point of authority 140. Usage datafor these downloads may be tracked by the asset usage & tracking module145. The subscription services module 135 and the asset usage & trackingmodule 145 report to the subscription conditioning system 115. Thesubscription conditioning system 115 allocates the one or moresubscription fees according to a selected allocation model, and reportsthe resulting allocations to the rights & royalty system 120.

[0037] Alternatively, all electronic delivery of digital content fromthe DSPs 130 must go through a merchant 160. Moreover, in a peer to peermodel, the DSP may be used as a directory naming service to track assetusage. For example, the subscription conditioning system 115 may receivedigital asset metadata from the digital asset management system 110, andthe subscription conditioning system 115 may transmit digital asset andper-asset cost data for each licensee to the DSP 130. The metadata isthe information used to facilitate calculation of rights and royaltiesand assignment of content aggregates. These processes are discussed ingreater detail below in connection with FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A and 5B.

[0038]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary environment200 for a subscription revenue conditioning system 240. Digital assetmanagement systems 210 may be communicatively coupled with a rights &royalty system 230 through a wide area network (WAN) 220, (utilizingfirewalls if needed) and/or through a local area network (LAN) 242. Thedigital asset management systems 210 are also communicatively coupledwith DSPs 270 through firewalls 255 and a public network 250, such asthe Internet. Consumer devices 260 are communicatively coupled with theDSPs 270 through the public network 250.

[0039] A subscription conditioning system 240 is communicatively coupledwith the rights & royalty system 230 through the WAN 220 (utilizing afirewall if needed) and/or through the LAN 242. The subscriptionconditioning system 240 also is communicatively coupled with the DSPs270 through a firewall 244 and the public network 250. The subscriptionconditioning system 240 communicates with the DSPs 270 to obtain revenueand usage information.

[0040] Subscription information across subscription plans may be managedby a database within the subscription conditioning system 240.Alternatively, this information may be replicated locally from separatecontract management systems, which may be part of the asset managementsystems 210.

[0041] Updates to local databases and data usage reports may be made ona periodic basis (e.g., hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).Subscription contract information between a content provider (e.g., arecord company) and a DSP are maintained in a database within thesubscription conditioning system 240, thereby allowing validation andverification of revenue.

[0042] The DSPs 270 may track usage information on the asset andsubscription levels; thus the usage information provided by the DSPs 270may include downloading and streaming per asset per subscription. Thisdata may be transmitted by the DSPs 270 (e.g., in XML format) to alocation where the subscription conditioning system 240 can access it.Any loosely coupled messaging system (e.g., FTP (File TransferProtocol), HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), MSMQ (Microsoft® MessageQueuing)) may be used. However, a tightly coupledapplication-to-application direct integration may be provided.

[0043] The subscription conditioning system 240 communicates with therights & royalty system 230 to supply revenue allocation informationthat has been conditioned by a particular subscription revenueallocation model using the usage information and/or assignedconditioning coefficients, which are discussed in greater detail belowin connection with FIG. 4B. Conditioning coefficients for assets withmultiple artists may be assigned by a content provider (e.g., a recordcompany) based on the collective stature of the artists involved, andthe data provided to the rights & royalty system 230 may be in the formof revenue allocation per asset (e.g., per ISRC track).

[0044] Moreover, data provided by the subscription conditioning system240 is sent in XML format to a location where the rights & royaltysystem 230 can access it. As before, any loosely coupled messagingsystem may be used. Alternatively, a tightly coupledapplication-to-application direct integration may be provided.

[0045] The communication protocols between the subscription conditioningsystem 240 and the rights & royalty system 230 and the DSPs 270 mayinclude appropriate error handling, backup and recovery processes andsecurity features.

[0046] Variations of the example environment described above are alsopossible. For example, a peer-to-peer exchange service may play the roleof one of the DSPs 270 described above, and multiple rights & royaltysystems 230 may be communicatively coupled with the subscriptionconditioning system 240 through one or more LANs and/or WANs.

[0047]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example subscriptionrevenue conditioning system 300 in communication with one or moredigital asset management systems 340 and one or more DSPs 350 in amanner as described previously. The DSPs 350 deliver digital content toconsumers 360 and report subscription and asset usage data to thesubscription conditioning system 300. In some cases, the usage data willcome directly from a digital asset management system 340 instead of aDSP 350.

[0048] The subscription conditioning system 300 includes a privateinterface 305 for communicating with digital asset management systems340 and a public interface 310 for communicating with DSPs 350. In amusic industry application, the digital asset management systems 340 mayprovide asset usage by subscription by artist by track through theprivate interface 305. The DSPs 350 distribute digital music toconsumers 360, handle revenue collection from consumers 360 and submitrevenue by subscription by track information to the subscriptionconditioning system 300 through the public interface 310. Moregenerally, the private interface 305 may be used to communicate with anyoutside system that is within the firewall that protects a rights &royalty system 380 from a public network.

[0049] The public interface 310 and the private interface 305 provide asecure and manageable way for the subscription conditioning system 300to collect data from an external application. In one implementation,this involves data sent in XML format as discussed above. A Web-basedsystem may be used to provide authorization and authentication of useraccess and to manage the acceptance and storage of revenue and usagedata. This type of Web-based implementation can help in bypassingsecurity issues when communicating with servers outside of the firewall.

[0050] The subscription conditioning system 300 may store subscriptionrevenue and usage data along with contract information between DSPs andcontent providers in one or more databases managed by a database server320 (e.g., an SQL server). The subscription conditioning system 300 alsoincludes an administrative interface 315 and a subscription conditioner330. The administrative interface 315 enables a system controller 370 toenter and manage all subscription contracts stored within thesubscription conditioning system 300. The administrative interface 315may utilize a Web front-end to provide a thin client solution withoutcompromising functionality.

[0051] File submissions to the subscription conditioning system (SCS)300 may be in one of several forms, including XML files, flat files,excel files, direct integration, and distributor feeds. The approachused for each submission is based on the location of the source systemand its security provisions. For example, in a Web-based submissionapproach, an automated process is triggered by the SCS 300 to pull theusage data through a public network via HTTP. Alternatively, users atremote sites drive the submission process and are allowed to communicateany issues via e-mail. The sending and processing of data is automated,and notification of any incorrect data is provided by automaticallygenerated e-mails.

[0052] Data exchange may be implemented using a messaging systemapproach, such as by using Microsoft BizTalk, or othermiddleware/back-end server. BizTalk server is data exchange softwareavailable from Microsoft Corporation, located at One Microsoft WayRedmond, Wash. 98052-6399. Thus, the subscription conditioner 330 may beimplemented using BizTalk, COM+(an extension to Microsoft's ComponentObject Module software), database and Web-based front-end compenents.The BizTalk server includes appropriate document routing, mapping &transformation, transaction logging, subscriber management, securitycertification, and workflow orchestration elements.

[0053] The database server 320 manages a submission database 322, and anSCS database 324. DSPs 350 submit revenue and possibly usage data to theSCS 300 through a submission website having authentication,authorization, submission management, approval and reporting components.Digital asset management systems 340 submit asset identificationinformation and possibly usage data through a polling system havingscheduler and extractor modules. A system controller 370 manages the SCS300 using an administrative interface 315 portion of the website.Completed royalty calculations are sent to the rights & royalty system380. In this fashion, the SCS 300 may provide individual asset levelrevenue distributions for use with traditional rights & royalty systems.

[0054] The data model and the user interface utilized by the SCS 300 arepreferably flexible enough to accommodate various types of data elementsreceived from DSPs. In the event that critical data is missing, theinterface document can be utilized to facilitate the process ofobtaining the needed data to properly calculate revenue allocation.

[0055] Generally, the inputs to the SCS 300 are asset data and usagedata. The inputs may be translated and inserted by a back-end server ormiddleware (e.g., BizTalk). The output from the SCS 300 is revenue byasset data. The back-end server translates the output into anappropriate format for the rights & royalty system 380. Multiple inputand output formats are supported, including XML, EDIFACT (ElectronicData Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport, which isthe United Nations standard for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)), X.12(United States' Accredited Standards Committee standard for EDI), SAP(Simple Asynchronous Protocol), HTTP, FTP, SMTP (Simple Mail TransferProtocol), Flat Files, and Comma Delimited. With a Biztalk server, datacan be formatted into almost any shape or form. Thus, the granularity ofthe output data from the SCS 300 can made compatible with the rights androyalty system 380 of the client system by changing the internal querystructure or by modifying the calculations.

[0056] Asset data may include asset information such as asset name,format type, language, asset type, asset identification (e.g., ISRCnumber for music), duration, artist name, genre, company name, andpublisher name. Asset information in the SCS 300 may be synchronizedregularly to maintain consistency with the usage data for revenuecalculations.

[0057] Usage data may include information such as customeridentification, contract/licensing identification (e.g., thesubscription revenue agreement between the DSP and a record company),total number of downloads, total number of streams, time period start,time period end, subscription based payable (e.g., the subscription feepaid from the DSP to the record company for this contract for this payperiod), download based payable (e.g., the total download fee paid fromthe DSP to the record company for this contract for this pay period),streaming based payable (e.g., the total streaming fee paid from the DSPto the record company for this contract for this pay period, if any),access based payable (e.g., the access fee paid from the DSP to therecord company for this contract for this pay period), assetidentification (e.g., ISRC number for music), number of downloads,number of streams, download payable (e.g., the revenue received for anasset downloading for this period under this subscription contractbetween the DSP and the content company), and streaming payable (e.g.,the revenue received for an asset streaming for this period under thissubscription contract between the DSP and the content company).

[0058] The output revenue by asset data may include information such asasset identification (e.g., ISRC number for music), contractidentification, customer identification, time period start, time periodend, subscription based payable (e.g., the subscription fee allocated tothis asset for this contract for this pay period), download payable(e.g., the revenue received for this asset downloading for this periodunder this subscription contract between the DSP and the contentcompany), streaming payable (e.g., the revenue received for this assetstreaming for this period under this subscription contract between theDSP and the content company), and total payable (e.g., the total revenueincluding the allocated subscription revenue plus download and streamingrevenue for the asset).

[0059]FIG. 4A is a block diagram illustrating flexibility in contentaggregation. Typically, each content provider has different digitalassets. The group of all digital assets for one content provider may bethought of as an aggregation of digital content such as digital assets400. When entering into licensing agreements with various DSPs, acontent provider may license the entire portfolio of digital assets 400,or various subsets of digital content, to generate subscription revenue.These subsets may be thought of as aggregations and are generallydefined by some categorization principle. For example, for musicalcontent, digital assets 400 may be separated into a New Age contentaggregation 410, a Top One Hundred Chart content aggregation 420 and aJuly Promotions content aggregation 430.

[0060] The same item of digital content may appear in more than onecontent aggregation, and a content aggregation may be defined by acategorization factor that is dependent upon time. For example, aMadonna music track 402 may appear in both the Top One Hundred Chartcontent aggregation 420 as track 422 and in the July Promotions contentaggregation 430 as track 432. When the month of July ends, the JulyPromotions content aggregation 430 is terminated, and the Madonna track402 may or may not appear in a subsequent August Promotions contentaggregation. Likewise, track 422 will be removed from the Top OneHundred Chart content aggregation 420 when the Madonna music track 402falls off the top one hundred chart. This type of dynamic contentaggregation definition may be implemented automatically in real timeusing appropriate computer networking technology.

[0061] In this fashion, assets can be mixed and matched to accommodatevarious consumer tastes and to maximize revenue. Moreover, contentaggregations may be ranked to provide an accurate cost figure; thus,promotional content may be cheaper for the promotional period formarketing purposes. This time-varying content aggregation and costinformation may be communicated to a subscription conditioning system asmetadata from a digital asset management system. Content aggregationsmay also be created by DSPs themselves, provided usage data is trackedat the level of the content aggregation specified in the licensingagreement.

[0062] The subscription conditioning system may support a variety oflicensing agreements. For example, a single licensing agreement maycover multiple content aggregations. Thus, subscription conditioningcould be performed at the licensing level, the content aggregate level,the asset level, or other levels. The licensing level includesprovisions for online access fees, monthly subscription fees, monthlydownload fees, and monthly streaming fees. The content aggregate levelincludes provisions for content aggregate access fees, per downloadcharges by volume, and per streaming charges by volume. The asset levelincludes provisions for per download charges and per streaming charges.Finally, other levels may include revolving content aggregates and audittracking of licensing agreement changes and updates.

[0063] In addition to calculating subscription revenue allocations basedupon actual usage data, the subscription conditioning system may alsouse customized coefficient drivers to create a conditioning coefficientfor use in calculating subscription revenue allocations.

[0064]FIG. 4B is an illustration of a graphical user interface forenabling coefficient drivers and setting conditioning coefficientvalues. A coefficient drivers entry page 450 may be implemented usingany number of graphical user interfaces. For example, the coefficientdrivers entry page 450 may be part of a Web page created by a Webinterface. The coefficient drivers entry page 450 allows a user toenable various coefficient drivers and set conditioning coefficientvalues for each such enabled coefficient driver.

[0065] In general, coefficient drivers are specific to a source ofdigital content, such as artists in the case of digital music. Eachcoefficient driver provides information concerning the market value ofdigital content associated with a particular source. For example, in themusic industry, the coefficient drivers would include Top Ten Records454, Platinum Records 456, Years with Label, Records Produced 458,Popularity Ranking, etc. Once a coefficient driver is enabled, such asby clicking a check box, a conditioning coefficient value may beassigned, such as by clicking a predefined range 452.

[0066] Alternatively, enabled coefficient drivers and conditioningcoefficient values may be imported from contract provisions inelectronically stored contracts. Additionally, conditioning coefficientvalues may be updated regularly via computer network from data sourcesstored remotely.

[0067] A conditioning coefficient is a predefined value that is factoredinto the calculation of an asset's revenue allocation. Coefficientvalues can be assigned or dynamically generated based on severalfactors, such as asset performance, artist stature and market trends.For example, a single coefficient driver, artist stature, may be used,wherein the value set for the resulting conditioning coefficient is anegotiated term in an artist's contract with a record label. Note thatthis type of stature coefficient will fluctuate in its revenueallocation effect depending upon a record label's later negotiatedstatute coefficient with another artist. Thus, periodic reevaluation ofcoefficients (e.g., monthly, quarterly) may be provided, along withspecial reports or an outline framework for negotiating coefficients, inorder to satisfy artists.

[0068] In the example shown on the coefficient drivers entry page 450,three coefficient drivers are enabled and have been assigned a value.The assigned value corresponds to the value or range of values selectedfrom a predetermined scale. Thus, the artist of interest has six toeight top ten records, eight or more platinum records and nine recordsproduced. This corresponds to a conditioning coefficient of three forthe Top Ten Records coefficient driver 454, a conditioning coefficientof five for the Platinum Records coefficient driver 456, and aconditioning coefficient of four for the Records Produced coefficientdriver 458. Although a linear relationship between selected coefficientsetting and conditioning coefficient value is thus described, othermathematical relationships are possible as well.

[0069] In some situations, a single digital asset may have multipleauthors associated with it. In this case, the conditioning coefficientsfor each author may be merged or a collective set of conditioningcoefficients representing the collective statute of the authors may beassigned.

[0070]FIGS. 5A and 5B are a logic flow diagram of a subscription revenueconditioning control program executed by a microprocessor in asubscription conditioning system. Referring to FIG. 5A, the controlprogram begins at step 500, in which total subscription revenue lessoverhead and profits is received. For example, the total subscriptionrevenue may be a subscription licensing fee for a particular contentaggregation as reported by a DSP.

[0071] Then in step 502, participation revenue is assigned if it hasbeen specified by the subscription agreement covering the particularcontent aggregation. For example, if a thirty percent participation hasbeen specified, thirty percent of the subscription revenue for thecurrent period is taken off the top to be split evenly among all assetswithin the particular content aggregation. The remaining seventy percent(or one hundred percent if no participation has been specified) becomesearned revenue for distribution according a selected revenue allocationmodel.

[0072] Following step 502, a check is made as to whether there aremultiple conditioning coefficients in step 504. If not, control passesto step 508. If so, control passes to step 506 in which a combinedcoefficient is calculated for each asset covered by the subscriptionagreement. This combination of the conditioning coefficients may beperformed in a number of ways, such as by averaging the coefficients,including the possibility of using a weighted average. Note thatdifferent assets may have different numbers of conditioningcoefficients, including some assets only having one conditioningcoefficient. Thus the combining in step 504 takes this variation inasset coefficients into account.

[0073] Once step 508 is reached, if there are any conditioningcoefficients, each asset then has a single conditioning coefficient forsubsequent calculations, regardless of whether it is an originalconditioning coefficient or a combined conditioning coefficient. In step508, a check is made as to whether usage allocations are enabled forallocation of subscription revenue. If so, control passes to definedprocess step 550. If not, control passes to step 510.

[0074] The defined process step 550 calculates usage for the currentperiod for each asset covered by the subscription agreement. Thisdefined process step is discussed in greater detail below in connectionwith FIG. 5B.

[0075] In step 510, distributed revenue is calculated for each assetusing the earned revenue as the base revenue being distributed. Theearned revenue is thus distributed evenly among all assets covered bythe subscription agreement. Then in step 512, a check is made whether aconditioning coefficient is in effect. If not, control passes to step516. If so, control passes to step 514.

[0076] In step 514, the single conditioning coefficients for each assetis applied to the distributed revenue for each asset. This involvesmultiplying each distributed revenue value by each asset's singleconditioning coefficient, then normalizing the resulting distributedrevenue values for all assets so that the total equals the earnedrevenue.

[0077] In step 516, the distributed revenue values are recombined withthe participation revenue for each asset, if present, thereby creating afinal distributed revenue value for each asset. These final distributedrevenue values are then output to the appropriate rights and royaltysystem.

[0078] Referring now to FIG. 5B, the usage calculations begin with step551, in which usage data is obtained. The usage data may comprise numberof downloads in the current period as reported by the DSP. The followingdiscussion uses the number of downloads as the key usage data, butalterative usage data is also possible. For example, the usage data maybe number of streams or a combination of number of downloads and numberof streams.

[0079] In step 553, a percentage of total usage is calculated for eachasset. Thus, the resulting percentage data comprises a percent of totalfor each asset, wherein the percent of total is one hundred percenttimes number of downloads for an asset divided by total number ofdownloads for all assets.

[0080] Following step 553, a check is made as to whether a conditioningcoefficient is in effect in step 555. If not, the process ends. If so,control passes to step 557. In step 557, the single conditioningcoefficients for each asset is applied to the percent of total for eachasset. This involves multiplying each percent of total value by eachasset's single conditioning coefficient. Then, in step 559, thepercentage data is normalized for all assets so that the total equalsone hundred percent.

[0081] Once the process depicted in FIG. 5B ends, the defined processstep 550 from FIG. 5A is completed, and the percent of usage for thecurrent period has been calculated for each asset covered by thesubscription agreement. Referring once again to FIG. 5A, followingdefined process step 550, distributed revenue is calculated for eachasset in step 518 using the percentage data and using the earned revenueas the base revenue being distributed. The earned revenue is thusdistributed among all assets covered by the subscription agreement basedupon actual usage for the current period and based upon the conditioningcoefficients, if present.

[0082] Following this, control passes to step 516, in which thedistributed revenue values are recombined with the participation revenuefor each asset, if present, thereby creating a final distributed revenuevalue for each asset. These final distributed revenue values are thenoutput to the appropriate rights and royalty system.

[0083] As can be seen from FIG. 5A and the above discussion, if usagecalculations are turned off, and if no conditioning coefficients areset, the process moves directly through steps 500, 502, 504, 508, 510,512 and 516. This represents a revenue allocation based entirely onparticipation (i.e. a basic flat rate), which is the traditionalapproach to subscription revenue allocation. When any of the branchesfrom this central process are taken, a more appropriate revenueallocation for subscription revenues is created.

[0084] These various branches create ten possible scenarios for revenueallocation: (1) conditioned basic flat rate, (2) multiple-conditionedbasic flat rate, (3) basic usage rate, (4) conditioned basic usage rate,(5) multiple-conditioned basic usage rate, (6) conditioned participationflat rate, (7) multiple-conditioned participation flat rate, (8)participation usage rate, (9) conditioned participation usage rate, and(10) multiple-conditioned participation usage rate. With the manyvariables available within each of these scenarios, including the nearlyunlimited number of conditioning coefficients that may be used, anessentially infinite number of revenue allocation models may be createdand handled with the subscription conditioning system described herein.

[0085] The logic flow depicted in FIGS. 5A and 5B does not require theparticular order shown. Many variations in the order of steps arepossible. For example, the normalization steps may be performed at manydifferent places within the overall process. Moreover, performing thesteps in sequential order is not required. Thus, multi-tasking andparallel processing may also be used.

[0086]FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer systemin which elements and functionality of a subscription revenueconditioning system may be implemented. Other computer systems and/orcomputer architectures are also possible. Referring now to FIG. 6, anexemplary computer system 600 is shown.

[0087] The computer system 600 includes a processing system 602, whichcontrols the computer system 600. The processing system 602 includes acentral processing unit such as a microprocessor or microcontroller forexecuting programs, performing data manipulations and controlling tasksin the computer system 600. Moreover, the processing system 602 mayinclude one or more additional processors.

[0088] Such additional processors include an auxiliary processor tomanage input/output, an auxiliary processor to perform floating pointmathematical operations, a digital signal processor (a special-purposemicroprocessor having an architecture suitable for fast execution ofsignal processing algorithms), a back-end processor (a slave processorsubordinate to the main processing system), an additional microprocessoror controller for dual or multiple processor systems, or a coprocessor.These additional processors may be discrete processors or may be builtin to the central processing unit.

[0089] The processing system 602 is coupled with a communication bus604. The communication bus 604 includes a data channel for facilitatinginformation transfer between storage and other peripheral components ofthe computer system 600. The communication bus 604 provides the set ofsignals required for communication with the processing system 602,including a data bus, address bus, and control bus. The communicationbus 604 may comprise any known bus architecture according to promulgatedstandards. These bus architectures include, for example, industrystandard architecture (ISA), extended industry standard architecture(EISA), Micro Channel Architecture (MCA), peripheral componentinterconnect (PCI) local bus, standards promulgated by the Institute ofElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) including IEEE 488general-purpose interface bus (GPIB), IEEE 696/S-100, IEEE P1394,Universal Serial Bus (USB), Access.bus, Apple Desktop Bus (ADB),Concentration Highway Interface (CHI), Fire Wire, Geo Port, or SmallComputer Systems Interface (SCSI).

[0090] Computer system 600 includes a main memory 606 and may alsoinclude a secondary memory 608. The main memory 606 provides storage ofinstructions and data for programs executing on the processing system602. The main memory 606 is typically semiconductor-based memory such asdynamic random access memory (DRAM) and/or static random access memory(SRAM). Other semiconductor-based memory types include, for example,synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), Rambus® dynamic randomaccess memory (RDRAM), and ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM).

[0091] The secondary memory 608 provides storage of instructions anddata that are loaded into the main memory 606. The secondary memory 608may be read-only memory or read/write memory and may includesemiconductor based memory and/or non-semiconductor based memory. Forexample, the secondary memory 608 may comprise a semiconductor basedread-only memory (ROM).

[0092] The secondary memory 608 may include, for example, a hard diskdrive 610 and/or a removable storage drive 612. The removable storagedrive 612 represents various non-semiconductor based memories, includingbut not limited to a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, anoptical disk drive, etc. The removable storage drive 612 reads fromand/or writes to a removable storage unit (not shown), such as amagnetic tape, floppy disk, hard disk, laser disk, compact disc, digitalversatile disk, etc., in a well-known manner. As will be appreciated,the removable storage unit (not shown) includes a computer usablestorage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.

[0093] Alternatively, secondary memory 608 may include other similarmeans for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loadedinto the computer system 600. Such means may include, for example, aremovable storage unit (not shown) and an interface 620. Examples ofsuch include semiconductor-based memory such as programmable read-onlymemory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory (blockoriented memory similar to EEPROM). Also included are any otherremovable storage units and interfaces, which allow software and data tobe transferred from the removable storage unit to the computer system600.

[0094] The computer system 600 further includes a display system 624 forconnecting to a display device 626. The display system 624 may comprisea video display adapter having all of the components for driving thedisplay device, including video random access memory (VRAM), buffer, andgraphics engine as desired. The display device 626 may comprise acathode ray-tube (CRT) type display such as a monitor or television, ormay comprise alternative display technologies such as a liquid-crystaldisplay (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display, or a gas or plasmadisplay.

[0095] The computer system 600 further includes an input/output (I/O)system 630 for connecting to one or more I/O devices 632-634. Theinput/output system 630 may comprise one or more controllers or adaptersfor providing interface functions between one or more of I/O devices632-634. For example, input/output system 630 may comprise a serialport, parallel port, infrared port, network adapter, printer adapter,radio-frequency (RF) communications adapter, universal asynchronousreceiver-transmitter (UART) port, etc., for interfacing betweencorresponding I/O devices such as a mouse, joystick, trackball,trackpad, trackstick, infrared transducers, printer, modem, RF modem,bar code reader, charge-coupled device (CCD) reader, scanner, compactdisc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), video capture device, touchscreen, stylus, electroacoustic transducer, microphone, speaker, etc.

[0096] Input/output system 630 and the one or more of the I/O devices632-634 provide a communications interface, which allows software anddata to be transferred between computer system 600 and external devices,networks or information sources. Examples of this communicationsinterface include a network interface (such as an Ethernet card orwireless modem), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, etc.This communications interface preferably implements industry promulgatedarchitecture standards, such as Recommended Standard 232 (RS-232)promulgated by the Electrical Industries Association, Infrared DataAssociation (IrDA) standards, Ethernet IEEE 802 standards (e.g., IEEE802.11 for wireless networks), Fibre Channel, digital subscriber line(DSL), asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), frame relay,asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), integrated digital services network(ISDN), personal communications services (PCS), transmission controlprotocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), serial line Internet protocol/pointto point protocol (SLIP/PPP), Data Over Cable Service InterfaceSpecification (DOCSIS), and so on.

[0097] Software and data transferred via this communications interfaceare in the form of signals, which can be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by thiscommunications interface. For example, software and data transferred viaa network interface 634 are in the form of signals 642, which areprovided to the network interface 634 via a channel 640, such as wire orcable, fiber optics, a phone line, infrared interface (IR) channel,radio frequency (RF) channel, or other communications channels.

[0098] Computer programming instructions (also known as computerprograms, software or code) are stored in the main memory 606 and/or thesecondary memory 608. Such computer programs, when executed, enable thecomputer system 600 to perform the features and function describedabove. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable theprocessing system 602 to perform the features and functions of thesubscription conditioning system. Accordingly, such computer programsrepresent controllers of the computer system 600.

[0099] As used herein, the term “machine-readable medium” refers to anymedia used to provide one or more sequences of one or more instructionsto the processing system 602 for execution. Non-limiting examples ofthese media include the removable storage units discussed previously, ahard disk installed in hard disk drive 610, a ROM installed in thecomputer system 600, and signals 642. These machine-readable media aremeans for providing programming instructions to the computer system 600,or other processing machine.

[0100] Modifications and/or reconfigurations of computer system 600 ofFIG. 6 are also possible. While various embodiments have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only, and not limitation. For example, although substantialportions of this disclosure discuss subscription revenue in terms oflicensing revenue paid by a DSP to a record company, it is understoodthat subscription revenue is broader and includes subscriptions such asaccess fees paid by end users for free streaming of digital music from adigital content library, subscription fees paid to an online magazine,subscription fees paid to an online gaming company or advertisingagency, multi-tier subscription fees whereby a DSP offers varying levelsof accessibility, etc.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of allocatingdigital content subscription revenue, the method comprising: receivingusage information relating to usage of digital content in a digitalcontent aggregation; identifying a coefficient relating to a subset ofdigital works in the digital content aggregation; and generating arevenue allocation for the digital content based on the coefficient andthe usage information.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the coefficientis derived from a measure of usage for digital content calculated usingusage information from a plurality of digital service providers.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the coefficient comprises a preset valuecorresponding to a subjective measure of marketability for the digitalcontent.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the coefficient correspondsto an author of digital content.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinidentifying the coefficient comprises retrieving the coefficient from acontract data repository.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifyingthe coefficient comprises identifying a plurality of conditioningcoefficients, each comprising a preset value.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the conditioning coefficients correspond to an author of digitalcontent.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein one or more of the presetvalues indicates that a particular conditioning coefficient does notapply and is not to be used in generating the revenue allocation.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein identifying the conditioning coefficientscomprises retrieving the conditioning coefficients from a central datarepository to enable continuous updates to revenue allocation models.10. The method of claim 7, wherein generating the revenue allocationcomprises: averaging the preset values for each of a plurality ofdigital works in the digital content aggregation to create a compositeconditioning coefficient for each of the digital works; and multiplyingthe composite conditioning coefficient by the usage information.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein generating the revenue allocation furthercomprises normalizing data during multiplication to create a royaltypercentage of subscription revenue for each digital work used in a givenperiod.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein generating the revenueallocation further comprises assigning a weight to each conditioningcoefficient before the averaging.
 13. The method of claim 10, whereinthe conditioning coefficients comprise at least one of the following:number of top ten songs for an artist; number of platinum records forthe artist; number of years the artist has been with a label; number ofrecords produced by the artist; and a popularity ranking for the artist.14. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving digital assetmetadata from a digital asset management system to facilitate assigningof digital content aggregations and the generating of the revenueallocation.
 15. A data processing system for allocating digital contentsubscription revenue, the system comprising: a processor; aninput/output system; a database; and a revenue conditioning serverconfigured to calculate revenue allocations for digital content in anaggregation of digital content by allocating earned revenue for theaggregation as a whole based upon actual usage of the digital contentand a conditioning coefficient.
 16. The data processing system of claim15, wherein the input/output system comprises a network interface, aserial port and a keyboard.
 17. The data processing system of claim 16,wherein the database comprises a submission database, a subscriptionagreement and conditioning coefficient database, and a server database.18. The data processing system of claim 17, further comprising a networkserver configured to present a graphical user interface for receivingsubmissions and managing the subscription agreement and conditioningcoefficient database.
 19. The data processing system of claim 17,wherein the revenue conditioning server comprises data exchange softwarecapable of translating output data into a destination-specific format.20. The data processing system of claim 19, wherein the revenueconditioning server comprises a back-end server having document routing,mapping and transformation, transaction logging, subscriber management,security certification, and workflow orchestration elements.
 21. A dataprocessing system for allocating digital content subscription revenue,the system comprising: means for processing data; means for storing dataon a storage medium; means for initializing the storage medium; firstmeans for receiving digital content usage data; second means forreceiving one or more conditioning coefficients relating toauthor-specific valuations of digital content; third means for receivingearned subscription revenue data; means for calculating revenueallocations per digital asset, wherein the revenue allocations vary withamount of usage of each digital asset in a given time period, andwherein the revenue allocations vary with the one or more conditioningcoefficients; and means for transmitting the revenue allocations perdigital asset.
 22. The data processing system of claim 21, wherein themeans for calculating comprises a software component of a revenueconditioning server.
 23. The data processing system of claim 22, whereinthe means for storing comprises a relational database.
 24. The dataprocessing system of claim 23, wherein the first, second and third meansfor receiving comprise software modules in a computer network interfaceprogram.
 25. The data processing system of claim 24, wherein the revenueconditioning server comprises data exchange software capable oftranslating output data into a destination-specific format.
 26. The dataprocessing system of claim 25, wherein the revenue conditioning servercomprises a back-end server having document routing, mapping andtransformation, transaction logging, subscriber management, securitycertification, and workflow orchestration elements.
 27. The dataprocessing system of claim 21, further comprising: means for receivingdigital asset metadata; and means for transmitting cost data for digitalassets to a digital server provider, wherein the cost data includes costinformation per asset.
 28. A machine-readable medium having storedthereon one or more sequences of instructions for causing one or moremachines to perform operations comprising: receiving usage informationrelating to usage of digital content in a digital content aggregation;identifying a coefficient relating to a subset of digital works in thedigital content aggregation; and generating a revenue allocation for thedigital content based on the coefficient and the usage information. 29.The machine-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the coefficient isderived from a measure of usage for digital content calculated usingusage information from a plurality of digital service providers.
 30. Themachine-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the coefficient correspondsto an author of digital content.
 31. The machine-readable medium ofclaim 30, wherein the coefficient comprises a preset value correspondingto a subjective measure of marketability for the digital content. 32.The machine-readable medium of claim 31, wherein identifying thecoefficient comprises retrieving the coefficient from a contract datarepository.
 33. The machine-readable medium of claim 30, whereinidentifying the coefficient comprises identifying a plurality ofconditioning coefficients, each comprising a preset value.
 34. Themachine-readable medium of claim 33, wherein at least one of the presetvalues indicates that a particular conditioning coefficient does notapply and is not to be used in generating the revenue allocation. 35.The machine-readable medium of claim 34, wherein generating the revenueallocation comprises: averaging the preset values for each of aplurality of digital works in the digital content aggregation to createa composite conditioning coefficient for each of the plurality ofdigital works; and multiplying the composite conditioning coefficient bythe usage information.
 36. The machine-readable medium of claim 35,wherein generating the revenue allocation further comprises normalizingdata in multiplication to create a royalty percentage of subscriptionrevenue for each digital work used in a given period.
 37. Themachine-readable medium of claim 35, wherein generating the revenueallocation further comprises assigning a weight to each conditioningcoefficient before the averaging.
 38. The machine-readable medium ofclaim 35, wherein the conditioning coefficients comprise at least one ofthe following: number of top ten songs for an artist; number of platinumrecords for the artist; number of years the artist has been with alabel; number of records produced by the artist; and a popularityranking for the artist.
 39. The machine-readable medium of claim 33,wherein identifying the plurality of conditioning coefficients comprisesretrieving the conditioning coefficients from a central data repository.